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Risa Koizumi
Risa Koizumi (小泉リサ, lit. meaning "little spring) is the main female character in the manga series and anime called Lovely Complex written by Aya Nakahara. Background Not much is told about Risa's childhood and early years. The only things mentioned in the series was the fact that she was already 168 cm in the 6th grade, being taller than the tallest boy in the class even in kindergarten and how she fell for a guy named Yoshi for the first time in her last year of junior high. The new transfer student was also the one whom she heard about Umibozu from for the first time. First meeting with Otani. Risa and Otani met for the first time at an Umibozu concert, on Otani's birthday, in their last year of junior high (equivalent to the 9th grade). Because she entered high school, her mother promised her she would let her at the concert. Risa was very excited about going there, since it was her first. Though she was supposed to go with her brother, she went in all by her self, because there was only one ticket left. She was kind of unsure and felt lonely until she found another boy who also seemed lonely. Just when she was wanting to ask him his name, he started crying. Risa asked him if he was okay, the boy responded he was while drying his tears and received at the same time a phone call. Risa finds out then that it was his birthday. Before she can ask anything else, the concert begins. Being so packed, she easily got herself in one of them. Trying to get out of it, she is pulled out by Otani on a higher step. Risa went to him and shouted (being so noisy) that even though she doesn't know what happened, he should cheer up. Otani doesn't hear her and she has to repeat, though unfortunately she shouts it again right when the music stopped. Umibozu also advices him to cheer up while Risa shouts at him "is this guy's birthday today" pointing at Otani. Right then, Umibozu and everyone else shouts a "Happy Birthday" to Otani, leaving him blushing. Exchanging some words about how she heard by chance it was his birthday today and about their mutual love and admiration for the band, Risa notes that while she can't see his face properly since it's dark, it seemed like he was smiling. At the same time she figures she had lost one of her shoes in the pack before, and complains about the dangers of going inside there again. After the concert is over, she stays behind trying to find her lost left shoe. Otani finds it ruined and stepped over and offers to give her his shoes saying he just feels like walking home barefoot, allowing Risa to throw them afterwards. Just before leaving, she gave him a strawberry milk candy, wishing him "happy birthday" once more. With a big grin on their faces, they thank each other and after he leaves, she feels sorry for not asking him his name, wondering if they will meet up again someday. The flashback ends here and they are seen intheir spring break goingat another Umibozu concert. In themiddle of the town, they meet up with Yoshi, who was both's junior high class mates once. Asking them why they are together, they reveal they are dating and by chat they also find out it was actually Yoshi who brought them together by presenting each other Umibozu. In the process they also recall that one time they were at the live concert with an "elementary school kid" and a "weird girl". Upon realising it was each other whom they met 3 years ago, they start laughing about the irony while Risa reflect she must treasure every encounter because it may change her life and also stated she started feeling that way when she first met Otani. Personality Through out the series, Risa is seen as impulsive and strong-willed, rarely willing to display her softer side. She is also very clumsy and apparently talks a lot, usually in not such a good way. It is strongly stated by the other characters that she is very funny for a girl and a fun person to hang out with. At the same time, she also implies she is not cute and girly, the type of girls that are very appreciated in Japan, possibly due to her tall stature. Her favorite artist is Umibozu, her admiration for him going to the point of obsession. She is always cheerful and happy, not wanting to reveal how much she is suffering inside, like the one time she got rejected by Otani. While she cried in front of Nobuko and Nakaochi, she seemed rather cheery and amused by Otani's rejection in front of him. Though she is not cute or girly whatsoever she isn't a tomboy either. She takes high interest in fashion and hair, often wearing her hair in different styles and helping Nobuko with her outfits. Because of this, she goes in a school to become a fashion designer. Suzuki once stated that she doesn't see Risa as a girl, but more like a boy, but in a good way, such as being able to talk to her more easily than he does with other girls. Risa is also very fond of video games, always seen in her spare time playing some, especially Virtual Date kinds. At one point she becomes so obsessed with them that she falls for Maity because he looks like Cain, a character from her favorite game. She is seeing friendship as really important as she feels really guilty for not being able to help Nobuko with an advice when she needed it. Risa is also depicted as not so smart and usually does bad in school, being the only one out of her friends not to attend college in the end, but prep school. She is also seen as clueless when it comes to love and boys, as she never had a boyfriend before Otani, though she admits quite fast to herself that she fell for him. Because of this she also has quite a low self-esteem as she was expecting Otani would reject her, though she doesn't give up until the end. Also she thinks very high of Otani's ex-girlfriend, Kanzaki, wondering why would he pick her over his ex-girlfriend. She also seems very happy when hearing Otani presenting her as his girlfriend, though it is later revealed she has her doubts about whether he really likes her or not. Risa is also seen as kind-hearted, trying to bond even with Mimi after all she's done, stating she was feeling sorry for her. When on the tropical island, going to attend Maity's wedding, Nobuko hands her over what she calls "Otani's and Risa's key room" leaving them, but mostly her, completely shocked, being stressed and anxious about sharing a bed with Otani. On the first night he ends up sleeping between Chiharu and Suzuki, while Risa slept in the room alone. On the next day though, after they made up, they get to sleep together. While Risa was not so enthusiastic about confessing at the begining, after she did it, she find it much more easily doing it, so she says it with relatively small ease everytime she can, so she can reassure Otani of her feelings for him. On quite a number of occasions Risa is seen being late, stated by Otani that she "is late 1 times out of 3". Also she seems to like rabbits a lot, having a lot of bunny shaped things, and also seems to like romantic stuff as seen jealous of how Nobuko and Nakaochi express their feelings such easily, as well as being impressed about that one guy that gave roses to his girlfriend on her birthday. Appearance Risa has light red hair and brown eyes in the anime, though in the manga it is sometimes seen as brown (her hair). She is 172 cm tall and thin. At school she wears her uniform and a reddish pink pair of sneakers. In rest, she wears just about anything. Risa usually wears her hair tied up in various of hair styles but she has been seen with her down now and then. Though not the cute and girly type, Risa is quite beautiful and stylish. As stated by Mimi's director and producer, she has a good body, a nice style and the height to be a model, much to her dismay. She agrees to replace the amateur model for the day, though stated it was impossible for her to ever look cute. When she appears after her make-over, she is not recognized by Otani, as she was gorgeous at the time, wearing a pink dress, having make up on, her nails done and having her hair done curly. Afterwards, Otani stated in embarassment that she looked really cute and that she would be a great fashion designer. Relationships Being the main character Risa has many relationships with the other characters from the show. ''Love interests Ōtani Atsushi Obviously, her most important relationship is with Otani. They started off having a rivalry relationship, each fighting for Chiharu and Suzuki, that turned into good friendship, and later, love. Though she was the one to fall first, despite the big height difference between the two of them(16 cm), it is believed that Otani also felt the same way from about the same time, but he wasn't willing to accept it. After her confession on her birthday, and his disbelief of it, considering it just a joke, she struggles to make him realize her true feelings. When he finally gets it is him who she likes, he is quite shocked, asking her twice if that was the case. Blushing, he replied that he will think about it and that he jut needs a little bit of time. Though awkward at the beginning, they soon return to their usual selves and have fun with each other like riding a rickshaw in the process. Trying to buy some bear curry, Otani says thay even tough Risa is a funny girl and that he'd be prone to say he likes her, he just can't see her as a girlfried yet. He rejects her and she replies by saying he is so disgusting being so serious, vowing to forget everything ever happened. She leaves in a hurry to meet with Nobuko and Nakaochi, in front of whom she soon starts crying out of grief and sadness from the rejection, with a sad Otani watching it over from behing a pole. From that point on, it seemed like everything was going to get back to normal, they enjoyed their field trip but she soon realizes her feelings are too strong to be left alone so she confesses once again. Otani first kissed her while fainting from a cold at his house when Risa visited him to bring him his homework. After it happens, he has no memory of it, saying he was just close to her and saw a bit of rice in her hair, and fainted in the process of trying to get it out of there. A disappointed and angry Risa grabs Otani by his collar and kisses him, leaving the latter shocked and surprised. She leaves out in tears and finds comfort in her teacher, Maity, whose plan to make Otani jealous soon end up in a complete success. Upon figuring out his true feeling for Risa, Otani confesses to her (saying he is just no good without her) after their basketball match. Unfortunately, Risa falls asleep due to exhaustion before being able to hear it. A relieved Otani watches her, as she falls down on his shoulder, and an angry Nobu ready to charge in to wake up Risa (with a punch). For her birthday, he buys her a bunny necklace and shows late for the party, staying hidden in the dark behind a wall when the other came on the roof top to see the fireworks. As such, he is able to text her to come there and give her the present, while confessing once again to her, culminating with a kiss. The next day Risa is seen wearing the necklace much to Otani's dismay, claiming he doesn't want the others to find out "about this or about that". While Otani doesn't expresses his feelings so much often than Risa does, he is obviously in love with her, while the latter is much more prone to shouting out loud how deep in love she is with her boyfriend. Interestingly enough, even after a year after they've began dating, they still refer to each other by their last names "Otani" and "Koizumi" respectively, though Risa has been seen in some instances trying to call him by his first name, Atsushi, much to the other's annoyance and dismay. Otani has only called her Risa once, on her 19th birthday, in order for her to come and enjoy the fireworks on the beach like all the others, though he said he won't ever say that again in his life. Kazuki Kohori Risa looks at Kohori like a little brother, being both taller and older than him, though the feelings aren't mutual, as he has a crush on her. Though she seems rather oblivious to his feelings at the start, after she wakes up in an almost kiss with him, she realizes his feelings but this doesn't stop her from going at an Umibozu concert with him. He remains faithful to his crush on her, until she starts getting out with one of Risa's school mates, which also works at the restaurant where the three of them are part-time working. Though Risa stated about Kohori being really cute, those statement were mode from a friend to another friend. Fukagawa Haruka Haruka and Risa are childhood friends, and they remained good friends up until high school. Haruka has a major crush on Risa, coming from when she stood for him in front of some bullies, tough the latter doesn't respond mutually to the feelings. She sees him as his best (boy) friend, the shoulder she can always cry on, the one she seeks comfort from. Even tough Haruka has a "harem" of girlfriends (firstly seven, then nine) he states that he is just practicing for the time he will be with Risa, wanting to be the best boyfriend for her. While she was willing to go with him at the last school festival, she did so only because Otani didn't ask her in the first place, and in order to make him a little jealous, which actually worked. This makes Risa abandon Haruka in the last moments, though she loves and prices him dearly, like a brother. Kuniumi Maitake Maity-sensei (as the main characters tend to call him) is Risa's new English teacher. It should be noted that he is very handsome, and that almost every girl in school is infatuated with him, screaming every time they see him. Among those girls who had a crush on him, Risa is probably the most affected one, because of his resemble to Cain, a character on Risa's video game. This leads her in forming a fan-club for him, where she is the president. They come up with songs and cheers for him, usually referring to him as Maity-sama (Lord Maity). Tough he seems rather pleased with his fan-club, even coming from asking some questions, Maity is engaged. When she finds out tough, she wasn't so much for him any more, having returned to her feelings for Otani. Among the students in the school, Risa is probably the one with the closest relationship with his teacher, apart from Haruka who is Maity's cousin. This further is explored in the arc where Maity and his foreign wife are soon to be married on a tropical island and Risa is the one who helps him find her when she goes missing. Their relationship comes from her being the ex-president of his fan-club and also because he helped her with her problems with Otani, making him realize his true feelings towards her. Ryoji Suzuki When first introduced, Risa is seen with a major crush on Suzuki, and his efforts trying to get his attention. The latter doesn't respond tough to her feelings, being quite oblivious to her, stating that he doesn't see her as a girl, but more like a boy, being able to talk to her much easier than he does with other girls. This saddens Risa deeply, and vows to not let go of Suzuki, until she finds out he is now dating one of her best friends, Chiharu, the girl Otani had a crush on. Now, they remain on friendly terms. Friends'' Nobuko Ishihara Nobu and Risa have been best friends since their first encounter in the 10th grade (first year of high-school). Nobu is the older sister figure in Risa's life, often giving her advice in her relationship with Otani. When she is to leave in Hokkaido, Risa is really saddened that she doesn't know what kind of advice to give her regarding their relation with Nakao and her departing. While Risa refers to her as "Nobu-chan", Nobu is calling Risa simply by her name. Chiharu Tanaka Chiharu is Risa's only friend whom she has been in junior high with. As so, they have a really close bond, Risa looking at Chiharu as a little sister, in spite of admiring her greatly for her looks and academic performance. Chiharu prices her deeply as well, but she doesn't speak so often, as she is shy. When referring to each other, they both add "-chan" after their first names, meaning that though they have a strong friendship, they still have a little bit of respect for each other and considering the other one cute at the same time. Heikichi Nakao Being Nobu's boyfriend and Otani's best friend, the too have a close bond, he helping her with Otani, she helping him with Nobu. Not so much is explored in their bond, but she seems to trust him, as she starts crying in front of him (tough Nobu was there too) and also giving him various information about how her relationship with Otani is going. Nakao refers to Risa as "Koizumi-san" and she refers to him as "Nakao-kun", proving that while they are friends, they aren't so close as they are with their respective other friends (Nakao with Suzuki and Otani, and Risa with Nobu and Chiharu). Trivia *Risa is 6 inches taller than the average height for a female, and 7 inches taller than Ōtani. *Risa is also seen older than him, depicted so in the manga, that while she was 18, he was 17 at the time. This also proves that they are not born in the same year, as Otani is born in spring and she is in summer. *Her birthday being August the 3rd, that makes her a Leo, and according to the zodiac, her personality and the one of a Leo match quite good. *A running gag in the series is the "idiot punch", a punch she would usually use on Otani, either because she annoyed him, or to motivate him. Category:Characters Category:Characters Category:Characters Category:Characters